Zack Snyder Sets Up 'Sucker Punch,' Says Gerard Butler May Be In 'Watchmen'

It's been reported this morning that Zack Snyder has set up a new action-fantasy project called Sucker Punch, as a possible directing vehicle. Snyder will co-write the script along with Steve Shibuya. Described as 'Alice in Wonderland with machine guns,' the film will be set in the 1950s and will follow a girl who is unfairly confined to a mental institution and imagines an alternate reality to ease her emotional pain. The visionary director is hard at work on several projects, as we've previously reported, and will also attempt to bring Alan Moore's award-wining graphic novel Watchmen to the screen. Even though this project is in the earliest of planning stages, according to Sci-Fi Wire, Snyder did let slip one or two casting tidbits about the film in an interview at the recent WonderCon convention.

So, who would Snyder want to possibly take a role in the Watchmen film? His 300 star Gerard Butler for one. "He may" play a part, Snyder said. Which one? "I don't know yet, but he's fun, so I'm sure we can figure something out for him." What does Butler think about all this? In a separate interview during the convention Butler said he would love to work with the director again after his experiences on 300 but that Snyder hadn't approached him yet. Butler isn't the only actor Snyder is already thinking about for Watchmen, however.

He also has his sights on an even bigger mega-star: Tom Cruise. "I don't think Tom's going to do it," Snyder said in the interview. "I think he's busy and for whatever other reason. He does like the idea. He did like the concept. But, ... you know, we talked about it a lot. But I think in the end he's not going to do it. But [he's] still cool." Snyder had wanted Cruise to perhaps play the key role of Ozymandias in the film but to be honest, I'm glad Cruise doesn't seem to be interested. In the long run, its better for Watchmen if Cruise isn't involved at all.